Wind motor



April 14, 1936. c. E, MILLER 2,037,528

WIND MOTOR Filed July 30, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l 6 5g 3 52 f J3 M 6 H SWWt c zWz d EMZM April 14, 1936. Q -R 2,037,528

' WIND MOTOR Filed July 30, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 15 wind motor and theresultant excessive electric of a wind wheel.

Patented Apr. 14, 1936 1 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WIND MOTORCharles E. Miller, Anderson, Ind.

Application July 30, 1934, Serial No. 737,656

3 Claims. (01. 170-68) This invention relates to improvements in windparts throughout the same, the reference characmotors particularlyintended for driving an electer It! will generally be employed todesignate a trio generator. skeleton tower having a cap member II upon IThe primary object of this invention is to prowhich is seated theenlarged portion l2 of a vide a wind motor of the above mentionedchartube l3. The tube I3 is rigidly secured to the 5 acter havingautomatic breaking means associcap member II and is further held inplace by ated with the impeller blades operating under means of asupporting plate l3. centrifugal force whereby the speed of the windRotatably mounted on the tube I3 as by means I wheel may be heldconstant. of a bearing I4 is a U-shaped shaft support A further objectof this invention is to provide l5 having opposite bearings I6 and I!for accom- 10 a side vane for the wind wheel for the purpose modating arotary shaft I8. of swinging the wind wheel out of the wind Rigidlysecured to one end of the rotary shaft stream during gales having highvelocity in order I8 is a pOW take-Off P ey '9 Wh Se ur d to preventdamage to the working parts of the to the opposite end of the shaft I8is a hub current generated by the electric machine. Radial bosses 2| areformed integral with the A still further object of this invention is tohub 29 to which are secured wind wheel blades provide controlling meansfor the side vane 22 that are hollow and are provided with reducedwhereby the same may be held in a vertical or tubular inner ends 23.Rivets 23 may connect 20 horizontal position by means of simple manualthe tubular inner ends of the blades 22 to the 20 controls. bosses 2| ofthe hub as clearly shown in Figures A still further object of thisinvention is to 3 and 4- provide a wind wheel having braking vanes car-Each of the wind wheel blades 22 is provided 7 ried by the ends of thewind wheel blades and with braking vanes 24 rotatably mounted in the '25means is provided for connecting the braking free end of the blade andsaid vanes are pro- 5 vanes whereby the same will be tilted in unison.vided with stub shafts 25 journaled in suitable Other objects andadvantages of the invention bearin 26 rmed in "th uter ends 0f the willbecome apparent during the course of the blades as clearly illustratedin Figure 5. The

following description, taken with the accompanyinner end of the stubshaft 25 carries a spiral ing drawings, wherein strap 21 held in placeby means of a collar 29 30 Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a windfitted on the shaft and locked in place by a set wheel constructionembodying this invention; screw 30. The spiral strap 21 is adapted toex- Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged elevation tend into a nut 3|carried by a yoke 32 having partly in section to clearly illustrate theworking a suitable collar 33 secured on the outer end of parts thereof;a sliding shaft 34. 35 Figure 3 is a top elevational view illustratingThe shaft 34 adjacent its inner end carries latthe side vane in itsinoperative position; eral lugs 35 to which are secured the inner endsFigure 4 is a similar view illustrating the side of coil springs 36while the opposite ends of the vane in its operative position forcausing the desprings are anchored as at 31. Said coil springs flectionof the wind wheel with respect to the 36 are adapted to normally retainthe shaft 34 4O wind stream; towards the hub 20 and against centrifugalac- Figure 5 is a side elevation greatly enlarged tion of the windwheel. and slightly in section of one of the wind wheel Angle bars 38,within the hub 20, each have blades illustrating the braking vane andshowing a portion as at 39 guided in the hub bosses 2| the manner inwhich the vanes are adapted to and connected as at 40 to the slide rods34. A 45 be tilted at right angles to the wind wheel vanes; rack bar 4|is formed on the other end of each and of the angle bars 38 and theteeth of said rack Figure 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view bars areadapted to engage a toothed Wheel 42 slightly enlarged, taken throughthe hub portion rotatably mounted on the shaft I8. The rack of the windwheel to clearly illustrate the manbars 4| and toothed wheel 42 arecompactly ar- 50 ner in which the braking vanes are connected rangedwithin the hub 20 of the wind wheel as to operate in unison. clearlyshown in Figure 6. By this arrangement, In the drawings, wherein for thepurpose of the braking vanes 24 may be caused to turn with illustratingthe invention and wherein like referrespect to the impeller blades 22 inunison to the ence characters will be employed to designate like sameangular degree. a 55 Rotatably mounted in the U-shaped shaft support l5as at 43 is a shaft 44 provided on the outer end with a deflecting vane45 and having a pulley 46 rigidly secured to the opposite end. Asector-shaped keeper plate 41 is also rigidly secured to the shaft andis provided with a notch 48 adapted to receive a pawl 49 pivotallysecured to the U-shaped support l5 as at 5B. A controlling cord 5! hasone of its ends secured to the pawl 49 as at 52 and said cord is adaptedto pass over a pair of pulleys 53 journaled on the shaft support coverplate 54 whereby the free end of the controlling cord 5| may extenddownwardly through the tube l3 as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

A manual control cable 55 is provided for tilting the vane 45 and saidcable extends over and around the pulley 45 and has one of its endsconnected to a coil spring 55 as at 5'5 and a pulley 58 is secured tothe shaft support !5 for guiding the cable 55 through the center of thetube 23.

The coil spring 55 is anchored to the shaft support l5 as at 59 wherebya downward pull exerted upon the cable 55 will rotate the pulley 46 andcause the deflector vane 45 to be moved to a horizontal position afterthe latch 59 has been released from the notch 48 by a downward pull uponthe cable 5!.

The motor operates on the leeward side of its vertical support. In theevent of a severe wind storm or gale the cable 55 may be operated toallow the deflector vane 45 to be moved to the position shown in Figure2, whereby the latch 49 will drop into place in the notch 43 and retainthe deflector vane 45 in a vertical position in order that the wind willswing the wind wheel sidewise with respect tothe wind stream. In thismanner, the wind wheel may be restrained from attaining a high speedresulting in damage to the electrical equipment. Also, the braking vanes24 are operative to retard rotation of the wind motor by outwardmovements of the shafts 34 under centrifugal force to cause the brakingvanes 24 to rotate by means of spiral straps 2'! so as to present theface of the same at right angles to its plane of rotation, thus causingthe same to drag through the air and retard or brake the rotation of thewind motor.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herein shown anddescribed is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same andthat various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas claimed.

I claim:

1. A wind motor comprising a base, a rotary shaft support on said base,a shaft rotatably mounted in the support, a bladed wind wheel secured tothe shaft, braking vanes connected to the free ends of the wind wheelblades, axial shafts connecting said vanes to the blades, a spiral strapmounted on the inner ends of each axial shaft, a nut threaded on the endof the spiral strap adapted to be thrust outwardly upon the attainmentof a predetermined speed of the wind wheel whereby said vanes may bemoved at right angles to the blades to effect a braking action.

2. A wind motor comprising a wind Wheel having impeller blades, abraking vane rotatably mounted on the free end of each blade, a rotaryshaft connecting the vane with the impeller blade, a spiral strap on theinner end of the rotary shaft, a nut threaded on the spiral strapadapted to be moved toward the free end of the impeller blade bycentrifugal action for moving the vane relative to the blade to effect abraking action and means for normally holding the braking vane inalinement with the impeller blade.

3. A wind motor comprising a wind wheel having impeller blades, abraking vane rotatably mounted on the outer end of each blade, a rotaryshaft connecting the vane with the impeller blade, a spiral strap fixedto the inner end of the shaft in line therewith and means mounted forcentrifugal movements and associated with the spiral strap for movingthe same relative to the blade to effect a braking action by the vane,said means being normally positioned relative to the spiral strap forholding the same in alinement with the impeller blade.

CHARLES E. MILLER.

